whistle in the dark
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb[edit]
whistle in the dark (third-person singular simple present whistles in the dark, present participle whistling in the dark, simple past and past participle whistled in the dark)
- (colloquial) To make a show of bravery despite one's fears; to put on a brave face.
- 2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, published 2012, page 6:
- Those who seriously believe ‘There'll always be an England’ are whistling in the dark.
- (idiomatic, US) To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it.
Synonyms[edit]
- (make a show of bravery): whistle past the graveyard
- (speak of something without knowledge): talk through one's hat, talk out one's ass
Translations[edit]
make a show of bravery
|
speak without knowledge
|